Donors from around the globe pledged to present 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) to Syrian refugees in a convention held in Brussels on Monday.
An annual gathering hosted by the EU and chaired by its international coverage chief Josep Borrell, noticed the European Union commit 2.12 billion euros for 2024 and 2025.
That determine included 560 million euros already promised this yr for Syrians displaced contained in the nation and in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, and the identical quantity for 2025.
The bloc additionally pledged one billion euros for Syrian refugees in neighboring Türkiye.
“The situation in Syria is more dire today than one year ago. In fact, it has never been so dire and humanitarian needs are at all time high,” EU international affairs chief Josep Borrell stated.
“Today 16.7 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, the highest level since the start of the crisis over 13 years ago.”
EU humanitarian chief Janez Lenarcic stated that on prime of the 5 billion euros in grants, an extra 2.5 billion euros was promised by donors in loans.
He stated the EU and its member states general accounted for three-quarters of the grants pledged.
The donor drive got here after the United Nations refugee company warned its operations to help displaced Syrians remained “significantly underfunded at 15% almost six months into 2024ç”
“While we welcome the pledges made today, the discussion remains far removed from the harsh realities Syrians face,” Oxfam’s Syria director, Moutaz Adham, stated.
“Funding still fails to match the scale of needs and year after year, the number of people relying on aid grows.”
Not be ‘pushed again’
In the face of the shortfalls, regional nations internet hosting tens of millions of refugees from Syria have been more and more pushing for “voluntary” returns to the nation.
But Borrell cautioned about any efforts to make individuals transfer again to Syria.
“We make a warning about the so-called voluntary returns of Syrian refugees to Syria,” he stated.
“Voluntary returns mean voluntary. The refugees should not be pushed back to Syria.”
Borrell insisted that the worldwide neighborhood shouldn’t “incentivize this by any means.”
“We consider that there is not the safe, voluntary, informed and dignified returns of refugees to Syria for the time being,” the EU’s prime diplomat stated.
Syria’s conflict has killed greater than half 1,000,000 individuals and displaced tens of millions extra because it erupted in 2011 after the Assad regime cracked down on anti-government protests.
More than 1 / 4 of Syrians reside in excessive poverty, the World Bank stated Saturday, 13 years right into a devastating civil conflict that has battered the financial system and impoverished tens of millions.
Borrell stated that efforts to discover a political resolution to the battle remained at an “impasse.”
“The Assad regime has shown no intention of engaging in any meaningful political process,” he stated.
“We request everyone, including partners in the region, to use their political leverage to encourage a renewed impetus on the political process.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
